I have been looking for a 2 door XJ ever since our 4 door got totaled in April of 2011 .
Kimbo and the kids were rear ended by a guy doing 45 mph and not paying attention while they were sitting at a stop light . The roof was bowed upwards , the rear doors wouldnt open and one tire was always just off the ground . No one was hurt , and she drove it 30 miles home . Needless to say it was totaled and they wanted way more for it than I wanted to pay to keep a parts rig. The black 2 door belongs to a friend of mine , though I wish I had been able to get it to replace the 4 door .
After a lot of searching and trips to go see clunkers I found the near perfect 2 door XJ for me in Goldsboro NC .
It is a 99 2 door 6 cylinder automatic with a 231 tcase . It has awesome AC , cruise control , power windows and locks that all work . The body is in good shape , though the roof needs to be repainted . The interior is ridiculously clean but it desperately needs a headliner . There is no rust , and the oil leaks are minimal . It has a new head (not a junkyard head ) all new valves , head gasket , radiator , water pump, hoses , thermomstat , and exhaust manifold . It drives well and the steering is tight . The suspension is flat wore out , but that and the headliner were all that I could find wrong with it . After a little negotiating the seller and I came to an agreement and I loaded it up . Its tough to negotiate when you show up with a rented trailer and you both know how rare the vehicle you want is .
Once the money changed hands I loaded it up for the ride home behind my Pop's old truck . It towed Blurpee ( as the kids call it ) home with nary a problem .
Here it is off the trailer an freshly stickered .
The following day Hannah and I washed , clay barred and waxed blurple . She then drove it around the yard for an hour or so in 4 low . Since then she has laid claim to it when she turns 16 , and now tells everyone that she has her own XJ .
The goal of this build is to end up with a solid driver that will also be a light wheeler . Think more expo/ cross country/ mountain roads than full blown crawler . The front is going to get adjustable arms and johnny joints in the axle side mounts . The springs are going to be Old Man Emus , dampened by Fox Shocks . I dont plan on regearing as it mortally flies and I am just going to metric 31's . The rear has a limited slip , and I may install an ARB up front . I will make my own bumpers unless an ARB pops up cheap , and I will also make my own sliders . A cage is a possibility, but that will be a ways down the road for this rig . The tires and wheels are off of a Rubicon , but they wont be here until Christmas at the earliest as they are in Missouri . The last big add on will be a set of Notch Customs flares .
This brings us to today . The rear license plate valance was looking rough , so I decided to give plasti dip a try . I used the mad skills I learned from Hendrix to tape everything up , and the last picture shows the end result . The one thing I really like about plasti dip is that the overspray rubs off !
Kimbo and the kids were rear ended by a guy doing 45 mph and not paying attention while they were sitting at a stop light . The roof was bowed upwards , the rear doors wouldnt open and one tire was always just off the ground . No one was hurt , and she drove it 30 miles home . Needless to say it was totaled and they wanted way more for it than I wanted to pay to keep a parts rig. The black 2 door belongs to a friend of mine , though I wish I had been able to get it to replace the 4 door .
After a lot of searching and trips to go see clunkers I found the near perfect 2 door XJ for me in Goldsboro NC .
It is a 99 2 door 6 cylinder automatic with a 231 tcase . It has awesome AC , cruise control , power windows and locks that all work . The body is in good shape , though the roof needs to be repainted . The interior is ridiculously clean but it desperately needs a headliner . There is no rust , and the oil leaks are minimal . It has a new head (not a junkyard head ) all new valves , head gasket , radiator , water pump, hoses , thermomstat , and exhaust manifold . It drives well and the steering is tight . The suspension is flat wore out , but that and the headliner were all that I could find wrong with it . After a little negotiating the seller and I came to an agreement and I loaded it up . Its tough to negotiate when you show up with a rented trailer and you both know how rare the vehicle you want is .
Once the money changed hands I loaded it up for the ride home behind my Pop's old truck . It towed Blurpee ( as the kids call it ) home with nary a problem .
Here it is off the trailer an freshly stickered .
The following day Hannah and I washed , clay barred and waxed blurple . She then drove it around the yard for an hour or so in 4 low . Since then she has laid claim to it when she turns 16 , and now tells everyone that she has her own XJ .
The goal of this build is to end up with a solid driver that will also be a light wheeler . Think more expo/ cross country/ mountain roads than full blown crawler . The front is going to get adjustable arms and johnny joints in the axle side mounts . The springs are going to be Old Man Emus , dampened by Fox Shocks . I dont plan on regearing as it mortally flies and I am just going to metric 31's . The rear has a limited slip , and I may install an ARB up front . I will make my own bumpers unless an ARB pops up cheap , and I will also make my own sliders . A cage is a possibility, but that will be a ways down the road for this rig . The tires and wheels are off of a Rubicon , but they wont be here until Christmas at the earliest as they are in Missouri . The last big add on will be a set of Notch Customs flares .
This brings us to today . The rear license plate valance was looking rough , so I decided to give plasti dip a try . I used the mad skills I learned from Hendrix to tape everything up , and the last picture shows the end result . The one thing I really like about plasti dip is that the overspray rubs off !
